What was it about political theory that convinced Julie to study political science at university? What was occurring within the technology industry that created an opportunity for Facebook to do things in new ways for consumers which resonated with Julie and drew her to work there? Why was it so fascinating to be leading corporate development for a well-positioned adtech firm during the period of mass consolidation? What about management consulting strategy work led Julie to definitively know she wanted to be a business operator? Why did the autonomy of working at a startup foster a sense of exhilaration that Julie found herself addicted to? How did Tractable allow Julie to work on innovative solutions that brought powerful new technology to the physical world? What did the emergence of generative AI change that reduced the investment companies had to make in bringing solutions to market? Why isn't there a single source of truth for home renovation projects? What are the assorted challenges that contractors face as small business owners themselves while managing a renovation project? How has Block Renovation built technology to enable transparency and trust between homeowners and contractors? Where has Block Renovation integrated generative AI into its solutions? How is localization and deep real estate market knowledge incorporated into each Block Renovation city launch?

Julie Kheyfets - CEO of Block Renovation, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how working with insurance companies revealed to Julie how bad humans are at understanding risk due to our inability to think probabilistically.

What sort of building inspections are required in Europe before a building is taken down? As someone new to tech startups, what were the lessons learned from building the Airbnb for boat holidays from the ground up? What did participating in Antler's startup accelerator program lead to for Ieva? How does circularity in construction prolong the life of a material and prevent it from entering a dump? What are the factors driving the recent surge in interest in circular construction? How is Material Mapper leveraging big data to bring forecasting capabilities to circular construction? Why have traditional construction reuse marketplaces failed to scale in Europe? Why have construction material producers emerged as the first large scale adopters of Material Mapper? How are municipalities leveraging the Material Mapper platform? What new European regulations are being introduced which will drive future opportunities for Material Mapper? Why is Dubai running out of sand needed for new construction and where is it now importing it from?

Ieva Sibilla Strupule - CEO and co-founder of Material Mapper, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how her mom's background in architectural investigation coupled with her childhood spent conducting treasure hunts while inspecting historical buildings led to a deep appreciation for the built environment and a desire to preserve the materials used to construct it.

Why is there no user manual to run your house? Are the critical thinking skills you learn as an English literature major valuable in your work and personal life? How did Katie never study in college and become an auditory learner? What about the auditory learning skill set that Katie picked up in college lead to a career in tech? How did a summer job in Manhattan between high school and college lead to an interest in business? Why was developing a streamlined implementation process for a hospital back office software company so critical for sales success? How did promotions from customer sales lead to company executive leadership with golden handcuffs? Why are key man life insurance policies so essential for businesses to have in place for CEOs? How did a home ownership maintenance nightmare on her first property lead Katie to found and build Yarlow? Why is digital storage for home-related items and expenses so important for homeowners? What classic first-time entrepreneur mistake did Katie make when building the initial MVP for Yarlow? How is the trend of PE firms buying up home service profession businesses impacting the service upsell of unneeded services? Where is Yarlow integrating AI into the platform? How is regional customization important for homeowner maintenance and recommendations? Why was it important for Katie that Yarlow be a free app for homeowners?

Katie Shahan - CEO and founder of Yarlow, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how a group of college classmates who she did not know convinced her she needed to become an English Lit major.